Protos Ribera del Duero Crianza
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Textbook Ribera del Duero, with an impeccable balance
- A barrel regime that leans more on French than American oak makes for a more elegant expression than what you’ll expect for the appellation
Varietal Composition: 100% Tempranillo
Elaboration: 14 months in French (2/3) and American (1/3) oak barrels and 12 months in the bottle. Hand-picking harvest in 20kg crates. Sorting table. Skin contact maceration and fermentation of 21 days at 28 degrees Celsius.
Tasting Notes: Cherry color with garnet rim, bright and intense. Red fruit expression at the nose, powerful, elegant, dry, stone, cocoa bean, creamy oak and hint of spices. At taste very powerful, flavorful, fruity, good in acidity, smoky aftertaste, toasty and long finish.
PRESS
2012 – 90 Wine Enthusiast | 91 James Suckling
2014 – 93 James Suckling
2015 – 90 Decanter | 90 Wine Enthusiast | 91 James Suckling
2016 – 91 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The name Protos comes from the Greek work for “first.” While Protos has several peers in the upper echelons of cult Ribera del Duero, it is difficult to argue whether or not Protos is the region’s most iconic winery – “Ribera del Duero” was literally the winery’s brand name until 1982, when Protos gifted the name to the rest of the region, allowing for the creation of the now revered Ribera del Duero appellation. The winery sits at the base of the symbolic Penafiel castle that identifies the region.
For the visitor Protos offers as dynamic an experience as they come – Walk in one direction and you can snake through miles and miles of underground cellars, walk in another and you are in the stunning new winery space designed by famed architect Richard Rogers.